COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONA big, malty beast of a beer that exemplifies the way we roll here at Drake’s. Two-row malt is blended with Chocolate malt, roasted barley, and dark Crystal malts to make up the grist. Only one hop addition, Columbus, is added for bittering, allowing the abundance of malt in this beer to shine through. Enjoy the dense brownish head, the silky maltiness, and flavors of licorice, coffee and chocolate, rounded out with a slightly dry finish. here’s to those who don’t fear the mighty!

Looks magnificent. Smell is roasty, a tad sweet and a hint of alcohol. The flavor is really quite good. Thick and chewy but not at oil levels. Really quite good stuff.Earlier Rating: 11/15/2006 Total Score: 4.4Smells and looks great. This is pretty tasty. Not too thick or heavy, and with a nice amount of hops in the finish. A good beer from a great style.

Delicious, dark, thick imperial. The mouth feel is luscious and the flavors are decadent. It has no head, which one of my only complaints. Otherwise its one of my favorite stouts. And certainly the best I’ve had on the west coast.

HUGE thanks to Flipbrewer for sending this to me! Ernie, you’re the man! I would have to assume it is 2004 vintage. Thick dark black body with a minimal brown head. Ever so slight shade of dark goldenrod around the edges. Extravagant aroma of roasted malts, lightly smoked wood, oily coffee, alcohol, raisins, plums, and dark chocolate. WOW! The taste is much sweeter than imagined. Nice semi-sweet chocolate with dark fruit, coffee, brown sugar, and rich caramels.The alcohol is there but fits in perfectly and is not over the top. There is a nice warming feeling from it as well. Palate is a bit oily and bittersweet. Silky smooth and lacking carbonation but it fits this perfectly. Finish is moderately bittersweet. More of the alcohol coming through again. NICE beer! Anyone know where I can get a case of this stuff???

UPDATED: NOV 4, 2006 500 ml (16.9 oz) flip-cap bottle via degarth (thanks!). Hahh, this is my 298th rating and my first flip-cap...are these things that rare? This is a very black pour with an average size dense tan head. Aroma is mild and i mostly detect vanilla and toffee. Flavor starts with some chocolate, then some coffee and licorice and ends in a bittersweet roasted cocoa. Some hops are apparent in the finish and aftertaste underneath the roasty/burnt malts. Medium body, average to high carbonation. Silky mouthfeel.

How is this not in the 99th percentile? An incredible beer. Pours 10w40 black with a small but thick tan head. Heavy aroma of coffee, baker’s chocolate, and cappucino. So many flavors that are balanced perfectly. The crystal malt and chocolate are dominant, but don’t overshodow the coffee, oatmeal, and the mild hops. This only got better as the beer warmed. A huge, thick mouthfeel. One of the best.

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